Blind Faith
by Alyx Wolff
Summary: One stormy leafbare night, a queen explains to her kits the many wonders of Starclan.


**Welcome to my cute little one-shot! Inspiration: Plants vs. Zombies, nighttime pool fog mode. ;)**

Lightning cracked, thunder boomed. Rain pelted into the Thunderclan camp, drenching any unlucky cats who happened to venture out of their dens. A tall black tom bounded up to the leader's den to report about his patrol. He stopped at the entrance, shaking out his fur.

"Come in Cricketclaw." An old orange tabby tom stepped out, Treestar.

Cricketclaw nodded, and followed his leader inside. "Treestar-"

"I know. This is the worst storm we've had since before Thunder himself." He turned to his deputy. "Come, sit down." Cricketclaw walked over to Treestar, laying himself down.

"Treestar, my patrol. We… we caught Windclan scum stealing prey, two pheasants and a water vole." He ducked his head, almost as if he was afraid.

"What?" Treestar jumped to his feet. "This can't go unpunished! Who did you see?"

Cricketclaw looked up in concern. The Thunderclan leader was known to take drastic measures, just to satisfy a grudge.

"Pinetail, Rivereye, Spottedleap, and her apprentice, Stonepaw." He turned to Treestar. "It was only a couple of phe-"

"It was still prey!" The leader snapped at him. "You know very well how hard it is to catch prey, ANY prey, in this fox-dunged weather." His dark grey eyes flashed, tail lashing from side to side. "We'll take a group of warriors." He thought for a moment. "Let's take Amberfeather, Talanpelt, Leafstep, and Antpaw."

Cricketclaw growled deep in his chest. "Treestar, I don't think we have to-" But he never finished. Treestar leaped onto him, pinning him down. "Are you not worthy? Did you not pledge your loyalty to Thunderclan?" he snarled. "We WILL reclaim our prey, and our dignity, for that matter! Those furballs don't steal from Thunderclan and get away un-touched."

Suddenly, Treestar relised what he was doing. He scrambled off his deputy. "Sorry Cricketclaw." He turned to him, the fire in his eyes distinguished, but in a second, it came back. "Gather the patrol."

**o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o **_**Later, during the attack on Windclan **_**o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o**

"Prey-stealers!" yowled Treestar as he hurled himself at Willowstar, Windclan's leader. She retaliated, raking her claws over his belly.

"We never stole any of your precious prey!" She hissed at the orange tabby. "You mouse brain!" Treestar had managed to twist his way out from under her, and was clawing her flank, enough force to draw blood.

Willstar glared at him, yowling and hissing all the while. She drew in her feet and clawed at Treestar's soft underbelly, forcing him to retreat. He ducked down, running towards the shelter of the trees.

But Willowstar wasn't finished. Running through the crowd of fighting cats, she launched herself onto Treestar, this time, no mercy.

"You'll regret the day you ever decided to attack Windclan!" she proclaimed, right before sinking her teeth into the throat of the defenseless cat under her. Treestar's eyes narrowed, as though he thought he could overthrow her, but then, they glazed over, shutting with defeat.

Across the field, Cricketclaw was about to throw off his attacker, a mottled grey she-cat, when he saw his leader go down. "Treestar!" He hurled the Windclan cat off, and ran over to the fallen leader. He turned to Willowstar, fear and anger traced in his eyes. "How could you?"

She sneered at him. "He was old, Thunderclan deserves a new, a better leader, he-"Cricketclaw flew at her, claws extended. "HOW COULD YOU?" Almost all the cats in the clearing stopped trying to rip each other apart for a moment, eyes fixed on the two spitting cats.

Willowstar falted a second, her amber-and-grey eyes sharpening. "Come on Cricketclaw, or should I say, _Cricketstar_. We could combine our forces…"

"NO! You, you _killed _our _leader_!" Cricketclaw pounced on her, ripping at her ears to shreds. Willowstar growled, and twisted out from under his grasp. She slashed her claws down his side, from his shoulder to his flank.

Down he fell, crying out in pain. Cricketclaw tensed, and looked up from his position at the murderer hovering above him. "Good-bye, Cricketclaw."

""No!" yowled a small tortoiseshell she-cat, running to the fighting pair. But she was too late. Willowstar's claws had already come slashing down, ripping a slit across Cricketclaw's throat. She looked up in horror.

"Thunderclan! Retreat!" she cried, racing back into the forest. Slowly, the cats picked themselves up, and limped back into their territory. They'd have to get their dead clan mates later. The remaining Windclan cats shouted at the retreating clan.

"Cowards! Crow eaters! Mangepelts!"

Snowtail, the little tortoiseshell, looked back in dismay. Cricketclaw, her beloved Cricketclaw, gone! She hurried to catch up to her clan, the rain silently pounding down.

**4 Moons Later, on a equally stormy and rainy night.**

"Snowtail." A small light grey and black tabby tom-kit crouched beside his other siblings in the Thunderclan nursery.

"SNOWTAIL!" The dapple-furred queen raised her sleepy eyes to her kit. "What is it Thistlekit?" He looked up at her with those cute huge kitten eyes. "I had a bad dream." He mewed pitifully.

"Oh Thistlekit." She snuggled closer to him. He'd been having nightmares ever since he was born, horrible battle scenes where the Windclan leader, Willowstar, came into camp and killed everyone. Snowtail had consoled with Pearstream, the medicine cat, and Oakstar, their new leader. But they couldn't come up with why Thistlekit was having these dreams.

"Snowtail, please tell me a story." Said Thistlekit.

"Ok, which one do you want?"

He sat down and thought a while. "Do the one about The Three! You know, Lionblaze, Jayfeather, and Dovewing!" He started hopping up and down. "I love that one!"

"Thistlekit, settle down!" whispered Snowtail. "You'll wake up Birchkit and Featherkit! And I've already told that one to you too many times!" Snowtail thought a moment. "Have I ever told you about Starclan?"

Thistlekit looked on, thinking hard. "Nope, I don't think so." He started bouncing up and down again. "Tell it to me pleeeease!"

"Fine Thistlekit, but please settle down. Now, do you remember what I told you, about where a good and noble cat goes when he dies?" She snuggled down with him, the slow rattle of rain on the nursery roof comforting.

"Ya, they go to Starclan, right? Where there's always fresh prey an sunshine an no storms an…" he rambled on. "I want to go there so bad."Snowtail purred, highly amused by her kit's thoughts of Starclan. "That's true, little one. But it's your time yet."

"Now, do you remember Firestar?" She asked her kit. "Yes! And Sandstorm, and Bramblestar, and Ivypool, and Brightheart, and…" He looked up at her. "Are they all in Starclan?"

"Yes, little one. They are. They watch over us and protect us in battles and harsh Leafbares." She looked down at her litter of kits. Three little ones, all new recruits of Thunderclan. "Did you know that we're related to Bramblestar?" she asked her one awake kit. Thistlekit stared at her. "We are?" he squeaked. "But, but that means we're related to…" He shivered. "Tigerstar."

***Duh duh duh. xP for your guys information, how they're related to Brambleclaw(star), he and Squirrelflight made up, and they had kits, yadayadayada. Hey, this is my fanfic, not yours. xP***

"Is Tigerstar in Starclan?"

"No, love, he's in the Place of No Stars." Replied Snowtail. "What's th-"

"Shhh, Thistlekit, lets save that for another story."

She wrapped her plumy tail around Thistlekit. "Now, on with Starclan." She looked up through the gap in the nursery. "Do you see those stars?" she asked.

"Yes, those are our ancestors up there, aren't they?" answered the kit.

"Yes dear. Do you know how much they care for you, how much they want you to become the best warrior you can be?"

He looked up at her with serious big blue eyes. "No. Do they really?"

"Yes, loves, they do. They watch over us all the times, striving to help their clan." She licked his ears in a comforting queen-like way. His eyes dropped, and he lay still, the pittering of the rain lulling him back to sleep. "Good night, little one."

Outside the nursery sat a large black tom. He sat there, listening to his mate talking to his kits. He got up, sorrow filling his eyes. He was so proud of Snowtail, raising their kits without a father.

Ferns rustled by the medicine cats den, as Pearstream waddled out. He looked up in surprise, and purred. "Hello Cricketclaw. I would have thought you were an invader, if I hadn't seen the stars in your pelt, and your still-familiar scent."

Cricketclaw growled. "Don't remind me."

Pearstream strode up to him. "They're beautiful kits, you know." He sat down next to Cricketclaw, sharing the warmth in the storm.

"I know. I just wish they could know Im always here, watching them grow." Replied Cricketclaw. "You know, I think, somehow, they'll know." Said Pearstream. "They'll be told of the legacy that was their father, and his bravery in battle." This made Cricketclaw purr.

"Yes, I suppose so." He watched as Snowtail shifted her kits around, making a cozy nest, safe from the rain. "She's a wonderful mother, at least." Murmured Pearstream. "It could be worse. She could go crazy with grief at your loss. But no. She cares so much for your guy's kits."

"Yes." Was Cricketclaw's reply. "I really have to go back now, it's almost dawn." Said Cricketclaw, glancing at the reddening sky. "Farewell, Pearstream. Take good care of them." As he said this, Cricketclaw started glowing. He suddenly bounded up into the air, running back into the place known as Starclan, a place of warriors, a place of noble creatures, a place of protectors.

**The end! How'd it go? Happy? Sad that im not working on The Fate Of Greenfeather? Ya, I know. But hey, its spring break!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors, just the OC's used in this Fanfic. None of these characters were in the actual warriors books, beside the nursery tales of Firestar, Bramblestar, yada yada yada.**


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